Netflix’s ‘Daredevil’ Season 3 Will Avoid All Marvel Crossovers

The popular streaming program returns on October 19.

The elaborate on-screen Marvel Comics Universe (MCU) has spent 10 years weaving a connecting thread between movies and TV shows, but Season 3 of Daredevil is breaking the mold by steering clear of all crossovers. Although this doesn’t mean that the new season won’t still fit perfectly into the chronological MCU timeline reported by Independent, it does indicate a possible shifting of priorities for everyone’s favorite blind superhero.

Matt Murdock, also known as Daredevil, will begin the third season in the perfect scenario for breaking free from the other Marvel Defenders. Popular characters such as Jessica Jones and Luke Cage, who both have their own self-titled shows, currently believe Murdock is deceased. This plot device from the end of Season 2 was very intentional. Per CBR, showrunner Erik Olsen believes the best way to restore the show’s luster is by making Season 3 standalone from the pack.

“I wanted to really get back to these core characters [Matt Murdock, Foggy Nelson, Karen Page, and Wilson Fisk] and use the real estate to focus on who they are and really flesh them out before I introduced external elements of the MCU.”

This seems to indicate that the next batch of Daredevil episodes will showcase a return to the first season’s well-received formula of character-driven, grounded plotlines. Fans who don’t enjoy keeping up with a big, multi-show crossover event such as The Defenders miniseries can rejoice in the knowledge that they won’t deal with any similar intrusions this year.

Of course, avoiding crossovers within the established Marvel Comics Universe doesn’t necessarily mean steering clear of everything outside the world of Daredevil. Therefore, it’s entirely possible that the titular character could encounter minor elements from the greater MCU’s characters and thematic elements without requiring the use of any currently existing on-screen characters.

According to AV News, the show will get some fresh blood from the original source material. Comic book fans will finally be treated to more than a hint of Daredevil’s traditional suit in action, but Matt Murdock won’t be wearing it. Instead, Benjamin Poindexter, better known as Bullseye, will be smearing Daredevil’s name with his lethal tactics. Even worse, Wilson Fisk will take the J. Jonah Jameson approach by telling anyone who will listen that Daredevil is a menace who must be taken down.

We won’t know for sure if Daredevil is permanently separating itself from crossovers within the Marvel Comics Universe until Season 4, but the odds are high that this current approach will eventually segue into another Defenders crossover.